3649-08 IICB.indd - Faculty of Biological Sciences - University of ...

Lesley Morrell
BSc (UEA);
PhD (Glasgow);
PDRA, Leeds University (2005-6);
NERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Leeds University (2006-)
Contact: l.j.morrell@leeds.ac.uk
Behavioural ecology:
aggregation and predator avoidance
In general, I am interested in
behavioural interactions between
animals, how they are affected by the
physical and social environment, and
the effect of individual behavioural
decisions at the level of the group or
the population. I am particularly
interested in the evolution of aggregation
as an anti-predator response in animals,
and use a combination of theoretical
and experimental approaches in
my research.
Current projects:
Animal aggregation: mechanisms for
the selfish herd
When animals are frightened, perhaps
because they detect a predator, they
often group closely together, forming
what is known as a ‘selfish herd’. But
how does the group go from being a
loose collection of individuals to a tight
cluster? My current work investigates
how well different movement rules
reduce an individual’s risk of falling prey
to the predator, and how the benefits
of the different rules are influenced by
ecological conditions such as population
size and density, and the time it takes
a predator to attack after it has been
detected by the prey.
Colour and shoaling in
western rainbowfish
The ‘oddity effect’ predicts that
predators can combat the problem of
attacking a single prey animal within
a group by targeting ‘odd’ individuals
(those that differ in appearance from
the rest). In shoaling fish, predation
risk is generally higher for animals that
are different in size or colour to the
rest of the group. However, studies
of colour have considered artificially
selected strains, rather than drawing
on the natural variation found in the
wild. In collaboration with Jenny Kelley
(University of Western Australia) I am
investigating shoal assortment by colour
in natural populations of the western
rainbowfish (Melanotaenia australis)
and linking this with experimental
analysis of the role of colour variation in
group choice.
Funding for these projects comes from
NERC, Royal Society, Association for
the Study of Animal Behaviour, British
Ecological Society and the Company
of Biologists.
More information:
http://www.fbs.leeds.ac.uk/staff/profile.
php?tag=Morrell
Figure 1. What is the best way for an animal to minimise
its ‘Domain of Danger’? The individual in the centre (red)
is well protected.
Representative Publications
Morrell, LJ, Hunt, KL, Croft, DP & Krause, J.
(2007) Diet, familiarity and shoaling decisions
in guppies. Animal Behaviour 74: 311-319
Kokko, H, López-Sepulcre, A & Morrell,
|LJ. (2006) From hawks and doves to
self-consistent games of territorial behavior.
American Naturalist 167: 901-912
Morrell, LJ, Lindstrom, J & Ruxton, GD (2005)
Why are small males aggressive? Proceedings
of the Royal Society of London Series B 272:
1235-1241
Morrell, LJ & Kokko, H (2004) Can too strong
female choice deteriorate male ornamentation?
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London
Series B 271: 1597-1604